Into the Forest discussion
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2016 Challenge Progress
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Sounds good. I'm reading slowly right now anyway.
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1.One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list
2.One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list
3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list The Snow Queen by Eileen Kernaghan
4.A book with an LGBTQA character
5.A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions (i.e. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam) Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W.B. Yeats
A book or collection set in or using mythology/tales/folklore from:
6.East Asia (i.e. China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, etc)
7.Oceania and South & Southeast Asia (i.e. India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc)
8.Middle East The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak
9.Africa
10.Central or South America
11.North America & Caribbean (Non-European based tales only)
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis
12.Europe Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier
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Such good sounding books ladies. More to add to my list.
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Good to know Margaret! That was the book I was planning on reading for #7!
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You're the one that gave me the idea to try it out!
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After that I was planning on reading Memories of My Ghost Brother. If I feel it qualifies I'll count it for #6 East Asia
So far, I have read 3 books/categories. .7. Southeast Asia-
Folk Stories of the Hmong: Peoples of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam
9. Africa- Sundiata
11. North America - The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales
I planned to skip the Endicott list because I mostly like to read folk and fairy tales. But if I have time, I would like to double up on the location-based choices because there are so many to read!
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7. Southeast Asia-
Folk Stories of the Hmong: Peoples of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam
9. Africa- Sundiata
11. North America - ..."
Those look good!
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I just started Memories of My Ghost Brother for #6 East Asia. It takes place in Korea and seems promising!
Jalilah wrote: "So now I can add #1 Mythic Fiction The Hummingbird's Daughter. I highly recommend it! I just started Memories of My Ghost Brother for #6 East Asia. It takes place in Kor..."
I've had The Humminbirds Daughter on my TBR list and moved it up. I've never heard of Memories of My a Ghost Brother. The description sounds very interesting. I'll look forward to hearing what you think of it.
A question for all.I'm thinking of using Zorro by Isabel Allende for # 11. However, I realize that the Zorro legend is from the pulp fiction by Johnston McCulley in 1919. Not quite 100 years ago. So is it a folk legend now?
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I suppose for the reason you mentioned the Zorro legend would not be considered an official legend, but for me it certainly is! I'd think you could count it!
I did find this site:
http://www.zorrolegend.com
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Of the two I loved The Hummingbird's Daughter much more. Memories of My Ghost Brother was interesting and I am glad I read it. I liked it, but did not love it.
Both books have some very violent and disturbing parts in them, but Hummingbirds daughter had a lot of beauty to balance it out. Ghost brother did too, but for me parts of it really dragged on.
It could be I am just more partial to Mexican culture.
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I'm thinking of using Zorro by Isabel Allende for # 11. However, I realize that the Zorro legend is from the pulp fiction by [author:Johnston McCulle..."
I think it would still count, because it's being used as a legend--does that make sense?
Looks like a fun read--I'm not sure how I haven't heard of it.
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I checked out this book on Incan mythology The Myths and Religion of the Incas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Gods, Myths and Legends of the First Peoples of South America with Over 200 Fine-Art Illustrations. It's got lots of pictures, but the style is very dry.
I am going to try The Huaca which is supposed to have Incan mythology in it. It got goods reviews and my library has it.
I'll let everyone know how I like it!
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Then I see it all over again a week or two later and the same thing happens! One of these times, I'll add it to my bookshelf.
If anyone is still looking for something for #6, I just finished The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, which was wonderful. It's a memoir rather than a retelling or original collection, but Kingston interweaves Chinese mythology into her memories and dreams, including a full essay based on her fantasy about being Mu Lan. Gorgeous writing and a good choice if you're looking for something a little different than the expected fare. Zanna from this group has also read it, I noticed. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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That looks great--I added it to my list!
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I have 3 more books to read:
#2.One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list
#7.Oceania and South & Southeast Asia
And #9.Africa
For #2. I might read Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip
For #7. I might read The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni or her newest book Before We Visit the Goddess, although I am not sure if it has mythology or folktales in it.
I still have no idea what to read for #9 Africa!
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Finally for # 10.Central or South America I did read The Huaca, but I'll be honest, I feel kind of like I am cheating by counting it because there is not a lot of real mythology in it. If some of you have not yet read The House of the Spirits, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Eva Luna, Love in the Time of Cholera or Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, those would all be far more appropriate. I've read all of them, some multiple times, so I was hoping to find something new.
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I've got left (and am planning on reading):
Endicott Adult Retelling (probably going to read Fitcher's Brides? The Complete Tales of Ketzia Gold? )
Endicott Mythic Fiction (Mortal Love? Love in the Time of Cholera?)
Religious Myth (The Fire Gospel?)
Oceana/ S&SE Asia (The Bone People?)
Africa (Lagoon)
Central/South America (Eva Luna? One Hundred Years of Solitude?)
Jalilah wrote: "I still have no idea what to read for #9 Africa!
Does anyone have any suggestions? ..."
Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor? That's what I'm planning on reading if I have time. (I did read The Killing Moon - which technically qualifies, but I want to read Lagoon anyway, so I may as well replace it if I can.)
I've also read Redemption in Indigo, which would qualify.
The Icarus Girl is my favorite by Helen Oyeyemi so far.
Some other books by all three of these authors do have some folkloric elements in them - though not all.
The Girl Who Married a Lion: And Other Tales from Africa is a pretty easy read by the guy who does the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.
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I'll have to think hard as to whether that would qualify... It creates religious myth more than it retells it..
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I've also read Redemption in Indigo, which would qualify.
The Icarus Girl is my favorite by Helen Oyeyemi so far.
Some other books by all three of these authors do have some folkloric elements in them - though not all.
The Girl Who Married a Lion: And Other Tales from Africa is a pretty easy read by the guy who does the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. "
Thanks! I just ordered The Icarus Girl! I've been curious about Helen Oyeyemi for sometime now, but did not know where to start.
It definitely looked the most appealing to me!
I've had Redemption in Indigo check as "want to read" for a while now, but there is something about the gluttonous husband that is off putting.
Lagoon looks interesting too, for that matter everything by Nnedi Okorafor, but I know myself. I never end up liking science fiction/dystopia novels.
And my mom is always trying to convince me to read the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books! Do you like them?
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Oh, that's right! I forgot for a second and was just focused on "modern settings". The beginning wasn't too sci-fi-ish, but I'm sure the rest will be.
Zahrah the Windseeker, perhaps? That one isn't sci-fi though it is a fantasy world. It's a lot lighter than Who Fears Death. I mostly remember her hair, but my review mentions other folkloric elements and creatures, so they must have been there.
There's also Akata Witch. I haven't read it yet so I can't swear but I don't think is sci-fi. I don't know if it has any folkloric elements beyond beliefs about albinos, though.
Jalilah wrote: "And my mom is always trying to convince me to read the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books! Do you like them? ..."
Never read them, actually. I just picked the book up from the folklore section of the library on a whim and only realized the connection after I'd read a couple reviews when I was done.
I think the poor rating on this particular anthology were form people who read it expecting it to be written in the Detective Agency style and it isn't. It's not plain, transcribed folktales, but it's not his personal writing style, either.
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3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list (The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold)
6. East Asia (The Woman Warrior Lacey recommended this one, and I came across it the next day at work, so it seemed like the one I should read for this category!)
9. Africa: (The God Who Begat a Jackal: A Novel or The Icarus Girl. Although, I ownLagoon. Is that fairy tale or mythology based? If so, I may read that one instead.)
10. Central or South America: (Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was)
11. North America & Caribbean: ( Roof Walker)
Anyone want to do a buddy read of Roof Walker by Susan Power? I realize everyone's read for that category already, I just know we all enjoy her fiction.
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I'm not sure to what extent, but the description states "... combining everything from superhero comics to Nigerian mythology ..." So there's got to be at least some mythology.
Margaret wrote: "Anyone want to do a buddy read of Roof Walker by Susan Power?..."
You have good timing. I just got a copy of that this week!
Hm. Not sure about the Buddy read timing. I've still got a couple hundred more pages of Don Quixote, and I'm next in line for And Then There Were None for a group read. The waiting list is about 2 months long at one library and 6 months at the other, so I really have to read it right away! Oh, and I have to make time for Henry V before I go see that play next week...
In other words, sure, I'm open to a buddy read, but not for at least 2-3 weeks.
So I've got these categories still to read -- I'd be open to buddy read a selection from any of them. 2. One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list
5. A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions
8. Middle East
9. Africa
10. Central or South America
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For me the setting does not have to be in modern times. I love historical fiction, but I generally don't like straight fantasy or science fiction. I don't mind if the setting is an undetermined place as in many of Robin McKinley novels. I just don't like made up places and sword and sorcery type fantasy. I know it's not rational at all because I love fairy tales and so many of them take place in imaginary made up places!
With science fiction I think I'd like stuff with time travel, parallel realities or "alternate continuities". It's more outer space, aliens, that I don't like, although I'll watch it in movies.
Margaret wrote: ".Anyone want to do a buddy read of Roof Walker by Susan Power? I realize everyone's read for that category already, I just know we all enjoy her fiction.
.."
Most definitely! When would you like to read it? For me it could not also be before 2, better yet 3 weeks.
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I've been doing the challenge in order so far. I'm mostly on track. I've read:1.One Mythic Fiction novel from the Endicott list: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
2.One Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
3. One Young Adult Fairy Tale retelling from the Endicott list: Straw Into Gold by Gary Schmidt
4.A book with an LGBTQA character: A Wild Swan: And Other Tales by Michael Cunningham
5.A book that makes use of the stories surrounding one of the world's major religions - Iscariot by Tosca Lee
6.East Asia (i.e. China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, etc) - The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
7.Oceania and South & Southeast Asia (i.e. India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Polynesia, Micronesia, etc) - I am about to start Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard
8.Middle East - Plan to read Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rusdie or The Amulet of Samarkand
9.Africa - ?
10.Central or South America - ?
11.North America & Caribbean (Non-European based tales only) - Either Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich or Sacred Wilderness by Susan Power
12.Europe - Haven't decided, but this one should be easy so I'm not worrying about it -- I have tons of European-based retellings in my collection.
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The only thing is (view spoiler), however I am still impressed and want to read more books by Helen Oyeyemi!
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Oyeyemi is rather hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed that one and I'm glad you did too. I'm a fan of ambiguity, so that part didn't bug me.
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Oyeyemi is rather hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed that one and I'm glad you did too. I'm a fan of ambiguity, so that part didn't bug me."
Sometimes I like ambiguity, sometimes not. In this case,(view spoiler)
I read an interview with Helen Oyeyemi and I think there were elements of her in the main character. Oyeyemi was a very intelligent, but socially awkward teen who had a nervous breakdown.
Boy, Snow, Bird sounds like something I'd like. I remember there was something that some people did not like, but I don't remember who it was that mentioned it, or what it was.
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The Icarus Girl was on my list for Africa, but I instead picked up Redemption in Indigo because my library had that one available for ebook. I'm about halfway through it so far. It's a little more simplistic than I usually like, but I am enjoying it.
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It did seem sort of oral-tale or fablish. I bet it'd make a great audiobook, if they play up on that oral quality.
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It did seem sort of oral-tale or fablish. I bet it'd make a great audiobook, if they play up on that ..."
Yes, it probably would.
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..."
I just had a look. Both The Icarus Girl and Boy,Snow,Bird have very mixed reviews! Now I remember it was Leah who did not like Boy,Snow,Bird. She has not been here for a while!
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I just finished Lagoon for the #9 category. I wasn't a huge fan. It ended up seeming rather comic-bookish to me. It was apparently originally written to be a screenplay, so that probably explains why I felt it would be better served by something with more visual components. But I'm not a huge comic book fan, so it just didn't work for me.
But this makes me officially caught up in the challenge, while also letting me remove The Killing Moon, which technically qualifies, but just barely. Still got another 4 to go though. I'm slow this year.
Jalilah wrote: "Margaret wrote: "I really enjoyed Boy, Snow, Bird. The issue was with how she depicted transgender. I didn't take issue with it, but I could see what other readers and members of th..."Yep, it was me. :) It was an excellent book - I was hovering near 5 stars - until the last pages. I just couldn't stomach the ending's portrayal of a transgender person. Its implications more than anything. I touched on those in a different thread (message # 803 and 804 is snippet of the discussion between Margaret and I).
And yes, I've been absent for nearly two months because of a couple unexpected life events. But things are leveling out now, thank goodness. Now I have to update my GR shelves so I can see where I stand with the 2016 challenge. I don't think I'm too far behind though. *crosses fingers*
So, has anyone read Wild Seed by Octavia Butler? I've come across a handful of reviews, including one by Jo Walton, that say the book has allusions to African mythology in it. But I can't find any information about exactly WHAT African mythic themes are drawn upon. I really want to read it for the Africa challenge item, but I would like to feel sure that it's actually making use of African mythology and isn't just incorrectly classified that way because it takes place in Africa and includes fantastical elements. Any insight?
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Among the sources Butler consulted for the African background of her novel were The Ibo Word List, Richard N. Henderson’s The King in Every Man and Iris Andreski’s Old Wives Tales.[2] A mention in Henderson’s book to the Onitsha legend of Atagbusi, who was believed to be able to transform herself into large animals, became the basis for the character of Anyanwu.[22] As Butler told McCaffery and McMenanin,
"Atagbusi was a shape-shifter who had spent her whole life helping her people, and when she died, a market gate was dedicated to her and later became a symbol of protection. I thought to myself, "This woman's description is perfect—who said she had to die?" [25]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Se...
So it sounds like she based the main character and the shape shifting off a particular legend.
Melanti wrote: "Wikipdia says this: Among the sources Butler consulted for the African background of her novel were The Ibo Word List, Richard N. Henderson’s The King in Every Man and Iris Andreski’s Old Wives ..."
Thanks, Melanti! I scanned the "Wild Seed" entry on Wikipedia, but I only read in depth the "Revision of Origin Stories" section which only mentioned Judeo-Christian and other Euro-centric mythology. GUess I should have gone further. This works for me!
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For once, I'm glad my eyes tend to wander while I'm typing!
Greetings, after a long time absent from the group discussions!I fell away from the challenge because I needed to read a lot of atmospheric stuff for my writing. Needed to know what readers who like historicals set in 1760s Paris already know, and what they expect me to know if I'm setting a story there.
For that reason, I'm still reading the D'Artagnan novels--all 1200+ pages of them--in order, but for change of pace I've got Lambs of God in my Kindle.
I also sampled Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was, but am not feeling sucked in by the characters, and am not in the mood for reading that would feel so academic.
So I've only read 5 books for the Challenge, two of them not to my taste--Nights at the Circus and Impossible, and now I'm going to sift through this thread to find recs for some of the slots I have yet to fill.
Hi Everyone,I was reviewing your lists of reading challenges, all of which look intriguing. I'm too late to participate in the 2016 reading challenge since I joined this group only recently. But if any of you are still looking for a book to satisfy #7 (Oceania and South & Southeast Asia), I can strongly recommend Beauty Is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan.
It is a long novel, but it is well worth reading. Kurniawan weaves legends, folktales, and all manner of bizarre happenings with the uprisings in Indonesia. It is delightful and funny and tragic all at the same time. I read the novel in August, loved it, and posted a review on Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I was reviewing your lists of reading challenges, all of which look intriguing. I'm too late to participate in the 2016 reading challenge since I joined this group only recently. But i..."
Wow, that looks intense! Added it to my TBR list.
Into the Forest
Books mentioned in this topic
Roofwalker (other topics)The Darkest Part of the Forest (other topics)
Possession (other topics)
Winter Rose (other topics)
Winter Rose (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Susan Power (other topics)Holly Black (other topics)
A.S. Byatt (other topics)
Patricia A. McKillip (other topics)
Patricia A. McKillip (other topics)
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I believe Kathy and Melanti were going to read it as well? Are you ready t..."
Next week for me.